A/N: Hey guys, it's been a long time! Writer's block and school aren't exactly friends… But I'm back, I'll try to be on schedule again and… I hope you'll enjoy this one!
The girls have been trying to spend their last free week as productively as possible: after several more business meetings, such as brunch, coffee, afternoon tea and lunch, as much all nighters as in a regular exam or midterm period and the longest phonecalls a brunette, a blonde and a redhead were getting ready for a photoshoot in the studio section of London Art&Design School, dressed in gorgeous white, black and green gowns.
Making an introductive editorial wearing the gowns themselves with an article published in Tatler magazine was Margaery's idea and she was very proud of herself, because she could convince the editor to do it: the material would be published the day after the Burberry show that would attend in three. Tatler was the old money's magazine, therefore the readers would surely recognize Daenerys and getting into there was way easier than getting into Vogue or Harper's Bazaar. Fashion week was settled too, though Margaery preferred not to know how Thirrin had managed to keep Renly Baratheon away from any questions when she had asked him for one more seat in the front row.
She was aware of the obvious fact that they were about to create the scandal of the season, the sudden appearance of the last member of the long lost family must blow up the country. They could hide her successfully so far: the few people who had known about Daenerys' existence had to sign a secrecy agreement on not to tell anyone about her offline and online. No one hesitated signing it, Thirrin's ice cold glance made everything clear without words.
Since they wanted to do the photoshoot as soon as possible they had to lean on a certain ginger girl who found free place and all the necessary equipment, stylist, makeup artist and hairstylist in between two of her classes.
"Ygritte is our miracle. Our Scottish, red-headed, over-honest secret weapon" - Margaery looked towards her as she entered the studio. Ygritte was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed, her frizzy hair in a messy bun, she was exporting the previous shots to her computer.
Everything has been going smoothly so far. They had finished shooting the "professional" part in business attire - one of those photos would go to the cover - , her editorial look had just been completed, and Margaery was very glad with it: the splendid white and gold loose gown fitted her perfectly, her hair was falling onto her back straightened, she was rocking the trendy strobing makeup look with angelic highlighting and warm, neutral, satin colors. The gown got full attention by pairing it with some basic nude pumps and delicate golden jewerly.
Since Dany's look hadn't been completed yet, she walked to her cousin who was standing in front of a full mirror.
"It feels so weird wearing actual colors… - Thirrin was observing her reflection. - Oh, and am I looking like too much of a fantasy warrior princess or something? Like the only thing that's missing is a giant sword from my hand. 'Long live our Queen, Thirrin of House Woodley, third of her name, protector of the Highlands, the most beautiful snowflake in the North.'"
Margaery had to admit there was truth in what her cousin said: Thirrin's long red hair was curled and put up in a very elaborated way with bronze accessories and twisting braids. The richly decorated, heavy green gown, the lace-up heels, her winged eyeliner look, the big bronze earrings and the bronze hand accessory just made the effect even more convincing.
"Come on sweetie, you're looking fantastic! - she said instead. - Who has told to you that?"
"What do you think? - she rolled her eyes. - I sent a picture to my stupid boyfriend. But you're stunning too. Straighten your hair more, it suits to you so well."
"You think so? - her eyes narrowed. - Thank you. Wanna take a selfie for Instagram? Just to tease the audience."
"Go for it!" - she nodded.
Margaery took some pictures, showing their best photo face, then chose one and began editing it.
"Little more highlight, some filter… - she murmured. - Thirrin, can I ask you something? Why don't you smile more on pictures?"
"Screw you and your smiling obsession… - Thirrin sighed. - Everyone keeps telling me that… Just accept that resting bitchface is my go-to, like you and your marvelously gentle smile."
"She's right, you're less scary when you smile" - Ygritte closed her computer.
"You too? You're making me disappointed! - she replied half joking half serious. - Have you taken a look at the other pictures?"
"Yeah - she nodded - , they seem good, but I don't know when I'll have time to edit them. I have school stuff to do as well as some deadline projects, and since we're going to Winterfell in the weekend, I won't have much free time. Oh, speaking of, please Thirrin be more interesting than my goddamned ring, I'm sure Jon's whole family will be obsessing about our engagement and ask millions of questions about wedding plans… "
Thirrin just laughed, but Margaery couldn't keep back the surprised question:
"Are you trying to say you don't have any plans yet?!"
"I'm not you, Margaery, I don't have a wedding board on Pinterest since its launch."
"But at least some ideas… ?"
"There won't be any wedding soon, so I don't think I should start planning already."
"Why?"
"Sweetie, maybe it wouldn't be a problem for you and your Young Wolf, but a wedding is fucking expensive and we need to save some money to be able to pay for everything. We've already talked this through, we need to wait at least a year, or even until graduation."
"Okay, okay, I get it, sorry. But if you're interested, I think a woodland theme would be…"
Luckily the argument was interrupted in time:
"Hey, I'm here, sorry, my hair needed more time than we thought…"
All the three of them turned to the petite blonde who just entered the studio from the fitting room. Pieces of beautiful blonde hair were braided backwards in Dutch braid, the rest falling on her shoulders and back in soft beachy waves, but its texture was kept silky and shiny. She got natural makeup look with strong contouring and rose gold highlight, except her lipstick: that was dark red with a plum undertone. Obviously she was wearing the black gown that looked very good on her: she wore the dress not the other way around. The big skirt moved in a soft wavy motion by her steps, the lights gave attention to the ruby details. The gown didn't require much styling: a pair of simple black sandals and some golden earrings were perfectly enough.
"Dany, you look incredibly gorgeous!" - Margaery and Thirrin said simultaneously.
"Thank you, and you too - Dany smiled back. - Margaery, you look like an angel, and Thirrin, please wear more green because it suits to you perfectly."
"Okay, we get it, all of you are pretty, the guys have made amazing jobs with your hair and makeup, but we really must hurry, it's getting late and I don't want to use all of the studio lights, so let's begin! First I'll do the group shots, same poses as before, maybe a little modified because of dresses, then just Dany, then the two of you, okay? Don't we want to have some music too?"
"Yes, we want - Thirrin nodded -, here's my phone. Put on the Glasto warmup playlist!"
"Stop showing off Thirrin! Just kidding, let's do this girls!"
Since it was their second round together the girls were in perfect sync in front of the camera, popular indie songs were playing from the small speaker. This kind of music wasn't exactly her taste, but she had to agree they had a certain loosening atmosphere, at least everyone seemed much more eased.
"Back to the previous stuff, every girl has their dream wedding, you can't be an exception!" - Margaery said while they were taking a short break in between two sessions.
"In fact I am. I didn't even think I would ever get married on the first place!"
"Okay, but still… Like Thirrin, what's your dream wedding?" - she turned to her cousin. She knew the answer - minimalist setting, white, silver and blue theme, music of all genres and Alexander McQueen dress with slim line and silver crystals all over it - but she didn't get what she'd expected.
"I don't know… - Thirrin's eyes narrowed. - It would be fun getting married on board, I guess, in the middle of the ocean… Like wearing something flowy and kinda casual, the captain, the witnesses and that's all, rum straight out of the bottle…"
"I sense lots of Greyjoy influence over here…" - Ygritte smirked.
"You can't say it wouldn't be fun! But I think marriage is a missing word from Theon's vocabulary, so…"
"Thirrin, you don't want guests on your wedding?!" - she interrupted her, her eyes widened in disbelief.
"You would be my maid of honor, you would be there, don't freak out - she rolled her eyes. - So you guys shouldn't break up before we get married if ever because I'm sure Theon's best man would be Robb. Oh, you don't know the details - she turned to Dany -, she's dating my boyfriend's best friend, who's my classmate"
"Or in other words, she's dating my fiancé's brother."
Margaery just smiled like it would be the most ordinary thing on Earth and mentally said thank you for the thick layers of foundation, powder, bronzer and highlighter, because she was sure under her makeup her cheeks were burning in deep red shade.
"Then you were right when you said London is a small town in reality" - Dany only gave her a gentle smile that she was very grateful for.
"You can't even imagine how small it is, but you'll see it in Fashion Week anyway."
"London Fashion Week is more insider than the others, literally everyone knows everyone - Margaery managed to continue her cousin's words. - It's good and bad at the same time, but I think we can turn the odds to our favor."
"Obviously we can. Oh God last time I was looking forward to fashion week this much was like in 11th grade. It's gonna be great, I'm sure."
"I'm gonna be there, it's obviously gonna be great! - Ygritte looked up from her laptop while importing pictures. - We'll get into the backstages with my fashion photography class, it's gonna be fantastic! Jon is coming too, by the way, with his editor - she added. - Front row, backstage, afterparties. He's winning at life, don't you think?"
"Oh, your fiancé is into fashion too? You must make such a nice couple!"
"Oh we do. But yes, he's studying here too, he's doing graphic design, and he's been working part time for Vogue as fashion illustrator. It's like an open secret he'll get a full time job there once he graduates."
"VOGUE? Are you serious?! When I was studying in New York I tried to get into Vogue USA for a stylist internship but they kicked me out in the last round of the job interview. It's so hard to get in there!"
"Well, he didn't do anything except drawing pretty things in his free time during his internship at a graphic design company's office. He's the one from a million I guess, who gets discovered by luck."
"So Vogue USA's HR manager sucks, seriously, you couldn't get in there with your name… That's weird. But don't worry, you will get millions of other chance to get into Vogue. I, personally, prefer Forbes though… - Thirrin stared out of the window with dreamy expression on her face. - 30 under 30 has been my dream since forever… "
"Who would have thought…? Fuuuuck, these look so incredibly awesome… - the ginger girl turned the screen to them, quickly jumping from one picture to another. - The whole concept turned out more Tumblr-like than I'd thought, but in a good way, like this one for example, when you're turned around and hold each other's hands, that's girlpower as fuck, sisters from another mister, the usual…"
"Ooor maybe you go to this school for a reason."
"Thank you. So, second round, Daenerys, are you ready?"
The blonde girl nodded and the other two walked off the set to an empty corner.
"Forbes, huh? - Margaery turned to her cousin. - Got inspired by Renly?"
"He's freaking 25 years old and he's freaking THIRD on the 30 under 30 list, as he didn't forget to mention it in every 10 minutes last night. Their PR section works like a dream, and it'll flourish even more, you know why? Because he's planning on buying it out from the family thing, you know, before it falls apart" - Thirrin lowered her tone.
"Thirrin, are you serious?!" - Margaery whispered, her eyes widened.
"Unfortunately, yes, he told me that too. It has many consequences, one of them is that we'll have a very significant concurrency."
"WHO THE HELL?!" - It was so hard not to scream. Why does someone HAVE TO mess up everything?!
"Margaery, don't be stupid - Thirrin sighed. - Same last name as yours, pretty, classic, boring designs, specialized in jewelry…"
"Oh holy shit… - she realized, the worst possible scenarios already playing in her mind. - He'll make a brand for Loras. He runs away from the sinking ship, which is pretty obvious, then he'll put a fortune into my brother's business and make him successful in WEEKS. He's the most talented PR manager of the UK, he knows everyone who matters, those people LOVE Renly, because who doesn't love him, right? Fuuuuuuck…"
"See, that's why my resting bitchface is useful, I wanted to scream. Let's be real, running under the Baratheon name has much more advantages than under the Targaryen name, even if you're a Tyrell, I'm Alysone Tyrell's daughter, and we have the Martells' financial support… "
"I don't care, we can do this. Once in a lifetime I can have more success than my brothers. I love Loras, I really love him, but I won't let him fuck this over."
"Keep calm, it's just a plan. But we know Renly, he's going to do it eventually, so I wanted to tell you as soon as I could. Let's survive fashion week, then we'll figure out what to do with the guys. I just hope only one bomb will explode on the Burberry show" - Thirrin added in a meaningful tone.
"What do you mean?" - she asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Please don't freak out, but Renly seemed very very serious for me, I can perfectly imagine he's already working on the buy-out. Since he's organizing the Burberry after party he can have the occasion to announce he's running the PR company only by himself now. That's not sure, I'm just guessing, but if you think about it…"
"You know what? - she interrupted her. - Fuck it. Those two can do whatever they want. We'll try to maintain a nice, professional relationship with them if all of this happens, but we only have to concentrate on Dany now" - Margaery tried to seem as eased and calm as possible, but deep inside she knew there would be a scandal for sure and she didn't know yet how to handle it. She'd never been in the centre of any scandal, which was rare in case of a high society girl like her. Thirrin, however, had already gone through on nasty things, but still had a solid reputation, so she put all of her hope in her cousin. Though drinking champagne straight out of the bottle in the middle of the street when you're only sixteen isn't exactly the same thing as resurrecting a liquidated company.
"Of course. Growing Strong, remember? - Thirrin squeezed her hand encouraging. - Growing Strong by Fire and Blood, in this case."
"That's good, something like this could be the title of this editorial, don't you think?" - she finally smiled at her.
"Yeah, you're right… When are we doing the interview?"
"I'll call them tomorrow and let you know the details."
"Thanks. Hey, I'm sorry I can't stay in London for the weekend, I know it would be important, but…"
"No, it's okay - Margaery hushed her gently, though she secretly wished she was the one who gets introduced to Robb's family in the weekend. - At least I'll know what to expect if Robb takes me home."
"I love you Margaery, I can't say it enough times - Thirrin hugged her quickly. - I'll inform you about everything, and if it makes you feel better, I'm kinda nervous. You know, for them I'm still perfect Alysone Tyrell's daughter, they must have very high expectations towards me."
"Come on Thirrin, that's our superpower, people like us instantly!"
"Hmm, true… Look, Dany's so beautiful… She's happy. Probably after a long time."
"You must be right… - she agreed. - We know so little about her past… We should get to know her better, don't you think? I mean, not
just on a business level. That way we could work together more effectively."
"Excellent idea. Take her to brunch in the weekend, or a walk in the city, it's supposed to be sunny, surprisingly, so do something fun and have some chitchat. You're good at this and I'm sure she would appreciate it a lot."
"Okay, then I'll tell you about everything."
"Deal" - they exchanged a smile.
Thanks to the millions of society and family events they already had experience how to look like the perfect girlpower duo, so they finished relatively quickly with their round. The photoshoot - eve if it wasn't completely professional - was a real success.
After making sure that even the raw material is very much publishing-ready and saying thank you to each other million times, the girls left to change, but Margaery stayed.
"Hey, khm… Can I talk to you for a second?" - she asked Ygritte who was about to clean up the studio.
"Sure, go ahead" - she nodded.
"Sooo… It's about… Robb. And me. If that exists."
"Thought you'd bring it up eventually, I actually wanted to ask what's up with you two. But why me, not Thirrin?"
"It's kind of… complicated" - she managed to say.
"Complicated? - she raised her eyebrows. - Why would it...? Wait, I know, it's about Robb and you, everything must be complicated that is very simple in reality."
"It IS complicated! - she insisted. All of her doubts that she'd managed to suppress found their way out. - We've already had three dates, we're actually dating tonight, we won't meet in the weekend only because he goes home, but we get along perfectly, yet he hasn't asked me to..."
"To be his girlfriend? Jesus, of course you get along Lady Overthinker… - she rolled her eyes. - He just doesn't want to go that fast after what happened on New Year's, that's all. Then, if you think about it, few weeks passed since his breakup and let's admit, you need some time to recover from a relationship which lasts almost a year, even if that was about the three of them: Jeyne, Robb and the anatomy textbook…"
Margaery took a deep breath to answer but halfway she had to admit it was a logical explanation.
"Look - she continued -, I know him pretty well, considering that he and his brother share some very important features... I'm sure he's just trying to learn from that fucked up relationship he had. For example one of his mistakes was introducing Jeyne to his family after like two weeks of dating. I was introduced after a month, we had even moved together already. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that he takes your thing very seriously, you don't need to worry at all. Just have fun tonight, eventually you'll get together officially."
"It's not just about this… Can you keep a secret?"
"I'll try. Wait, let me guess. Thirrin and Robb, am I right?"
"Are you seeing my thoughts? But… It's just so fucking frustrating, knowing that he had a crush on my best friend, my cousin, my soulmate, who looks like me a lot, and I've asked myself a million times, what if he had sex with me that night because I reminded him of Thirrin and..."
"Okay, before you continue rambling, I have to ask you something. How does he call you while having sex?"
"Excuse me?!" - she raised her eyebrows.
"Look, I don't want to sound rude, so please just answer, okay?!"
"Ooooohh… - Margaery suddenly understood what her friend was thinking of. - I get where you are going with this… So if we're thinking of the same thing, my answer is no, never."
"Then get this stupid thought out of your pretty head, possibly right now. You need to know something - she looked straight into her eyes, and Margaery couldn't help but realize how many shades of blue exists when it comes to someone's eyes. Robb had bright sky blue eyes with a strangely warm undertone, Thirrin had light ice blue eyes, while Ygritte had grey-ish blue eyes, like the color of cloudy sky. - Getting close, I mean really close, to a Stark is never easy. They have such strong family bounds that few people have. Their sigil is a wolf for a reason: they're a pack, protecting each other and not letting in strangers. It's true individually as well as together. The fact that I've got accepted very quickly is amazing, almost unbelievable - though Jon is a different case, he's always been the outcast. But Robb is the firstborn, the heir, like we would be still in the fucking Middle Ages… Anyway the expectations towards him are much bigger. Not that you wouldn't fit in. Solid family name, solid major, nice appearance, nice words… Now the thing is that Jeyne had all of these too, yet she ruined their Christmas… So Robb is obviously more careful. Look, for your sake, stop overthinking it. I have to tell you you're far better than Jeyne, not just because you have a life and all, and Robb knows it too. About him and Thirrin, their relationship will remain platonic,. His best friend is madly in love with her, after all, and I believe in friendship between man and woman anyway."
"Really?" - Margaery started to relieve a little.
"Yeah, actually 90% of my friends are guys - she shrugged. - Usually less drama."
"Then I understand why you've never imagined your future wedding."
"We've started making a playlist if that makes you happy."
On this both of them bursted out laughing.
Redheads and me in general has become officially a thing.